Annual Report STEWARDSHIP PLAN
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STEWARDSHIP PLAN 2019 Annual Report Required Information Page Stewardship plan approval date: October 19, 2017 Product category: Schedule 5 – Printed Paper and Packaging [Newsprint] Stewardship agency and/or program name: News Media Canada Primary contact (name and email): John Hinds, [email protected] Stewardship program website: None Stewardship Plan and Annual Reports website: https://nmc-mic.ca/public-affairs/newspapers-and- recycling/bc-stewardship/ 1 │ News Media Canada – British Columbia Newspapers Stewardship Annual Report 2019 Table of Contents Message from the President ......................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Third-Party Audit ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Recovery Rate ............................................................................................................................................... 6 2019 Tonnages .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Communication and Consumer Awareness .................................................................................................. 9 Environmental Performance and Market Update ...................................................................................... 11 Looking Forward ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 12 Appendix A – List of Current Members as of 2019 Annual Report, Unchanged from 2018 ....................... 13 2 │ News Media Canada – British Columbia Newspapers Stewardship Annual Report 2019 Message from the President This past year, perhaps more than any in most of our lifetimes, has highlighted the critical role and immense public value of journalism in our society. We have simultaneously been going through the most devastating global crisis since the second-world war and the most significant social movement of the millennium. It should be no surprise that an outcome of these formative events has been a drastic increase in consumption of news. And as different as they are – one a global pandemic inflicting unprecedented loss of life and economic woe, the other a worldwide fight against racial discrimination – the two issues have highlighted just how important the role of quality, professional, and accountable news media is. At times like these newspapers go beyond just informing us, but also protect and keep us safe, help us battle against misinformation and falsehoods, and make us think. In this context, it is important to highlight one often overlooked role that print media plays, namely, coverage of local news and information. With broadcast media narrowed in on national, provincial, and big-city oriented coverage, in many places the only source of local news is the community newspaper. And with Covid-19 in particular, much of the most critical information about the day-to-day, has been local in nature and continuously delivered by our community papers. Recent events have also put in perspective the true meaning of essential services, notably our medical workers. But in addition to those that help us when we are sick are the unsung grocery store clerks, cleaning staff, and the thousands of waste and recycling collectors and processing facility workers. I can speak on behalf of News Media Canada and all our members in expressing my sincere gratitude to everyone who has helped keep our recycling system moving, as we have endeavored to keep everyone informed. Through 2019, the world of recycling has continued to face significant changes and challenges. Fluctuations in material markets, as well as labour and transportation interruptions from Covid-19 have not been kind to the industry. We are fortunate though in BC to have a resilient system that has weathered the times remarkably well, and will surely come out stronger as a result. It’s been at once a great challenge and immense privilege to lead News Media Canada through this period. On behalf of all our members, we look forward to playing a role in the recovery and continuing our work together though 2020. Sincerely, President & Chief Executive Officer, News Media Canada 3 │ News Media Canada – British Columbia Newspapers Stewardship Annual Report 2019 Introduction This marks the third annual report for BC Stewardship of newsprint under the News Media Canada (NMC) Plan. It summarizes the information required by the province of BC, highlights the specific accomplishments of our plan over the past year, and outlines what we envision moving forward. Our industry is required to be part of a stewardship plan because the newsprint our members distribute into the residential market falls under Schedule 5 of the BC Recycling Regulation, also known as Printed Paper and Packaging (PPP). Those familiar with our plan will know that it operates in a unique way as compared to the other BC PPP plans and those that cover items like electronics, batteries, and paint. Aside from ours, there is currently only one approved plan under schedule 5, which has been operated by Recycle BC since May of 2014. Through our plan, in part facilitated by the BC Government, NMC’s newsprint material is integrated into the province-wide Recycle BC program. This is made possible through NMC’s delivery of in-kind advertising to the BC Government, which provides a medium so their important messaging can reach the public via our newspapers. In turn, the government maintains a relationship with Recycle BC on our behalf. Recycle BC also publishes an annual report, which we suggest any interested readers refer to if looking for more specific details on how their system works. Our Stewardship Plan has always been open to any publishers who are obligated under the Regulation. As our plan is already written and approved, coming on as a member is the simplest and most efficient way for newspapers and similar media to discharge their obligations. Following multiple years of growth through the addition of new publishers, the overall membership for our plan has remained unchanged throughout 2019. This is to be expected because following our first few years the vast majority of publishers in BC have already become members, leaving limited room for additional growth. This is a trend we expect to continue from this point onwards. Appendix A provides the full list of all current members. News Media Canada is the centralized administrator of the plan as we have been from the outset. Our governance structure is unchanged from last year, lead by a 15-person board, representative as much as possible of our diverse membership across the country.1 Our longstanding President and CEO is John Hinds, who is based out of our Toronto office. All stewardship-related documentation for BC, including our original plan and each subsequent annual report is permanently posted on the NMC website.2 Third-Party Audit Over the first few years of NMC’s Stewardship Plan being in effect, and even prior to, the collection recovery that newsprint achieved was exemplary. Before the beginning of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in BC, NMC was already well aware of the great work being done by BC residents in recycling their newspapers. Newsprint was one of the first materials to be recycled in the blue box programs in Canada, dating back to the 1980s, so it has a long and successful history that continues to this day. 1 Refer to the current list of directors here: https://nmc-mic.ca/about-us/board-of-directors/ 2 These documents can be found at this link: https://nmc-mic.ca/public-affairs/newspapers-and-recycling/bc- stewardship/ 4 │ News Media Canada – British Columbia Newspapers Stewardship Annual Report 2019 Ensuring continuity of the information and reporting structure, NMC has once again engaged BDO Canada LLP to conduct our annual audit required to track our material generation and calculate our recovery rate as a percentage. BDO completed the audit work between March 23 and May 25, 2020. The report was conducted in accordance with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Standards. Eleven (11) member producers are included in the reporting for 2019. BDO’s methodology included analyzing each members’ key processes for managing and reporting the required data, reviewing risks through testing, and evaluating the accuracy of the data. Information was gathered by interviews, inspection, observation, vouching to independent source documentation, and recalculating figures to arrive at the best data possible. There were some limitations this year due to Covid-19. For example, testing was conducted remotely, and all necessary evidence and documentation was shared via emails between BDO, NMC, and individual producers. Wherever possible, BDO attempted to obtain third party supporting evidence, although much of the audit was based on internal sources of information. An important key metric for the Stewardship Plan is the “Residential Production Volume” (RPV). The RPV represents the share of newspaper produced by NMC members for exclusively